


Thicker Than Blood

by Kerriathechosen1



Category: Penumbra (Video Games)
Genre: Frictional Games Challenge, Mild Language, One Shot, Reflection, Swearing, Thicker Than Blood, this is the shortest thing I've ever written but I kind of like it how it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 08:00:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24347629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerriathechosen1/pseuds/Kerriathechosen1
Summary: This is a part of the Frictional Games Challenge of 2020. This work is prompt #2, "Thicker than blood."“Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”As Philip prepares himself to remove the last significant individual in his life, he reflects on this quote and what it means to him.
Kudos: 3





	Thicker Than Blood

**_“Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”_ **

Philip had always known the quote to mean that relationships of choice were stronger than familial ties. He’d always been skeptical; sure, his relationship with his father was estranged, but he loved his mother more than anyone else in this world. And he didn’t have anyone else -- not for long, that is. People just seemed to slip away from his life like shiny coins slipping through cracks in the floorboards.

For Philip, his relationship with his father was weak. Howard Lafresque had never really been in his life, not even at a young age. It was one of his mother’s biggest regrets, and one of the questions he used to ask that sent her into a fit of tears and apologies. He never understood what really happened to his father, except that he was never home. All the other kids his age had a father, so why not him? Philip knew his father had to be alive; after all, his mother received payment for his father’s work -- otherwise, she never would have been able to take care of him. Still, the absence of a father weighed on the back of his mind for the past few decades. He didn’t know why. He didn’t love his father; he  _ couldn’t _ . There was nothing to love in a name without a face. And yet, something about his father’s work pulled him to Greenland. Perhaps it was the desire to see what was really worth more than spending time with his only son. But that was far too emotional a reason, and Philip wasn’t the sentimental type.

His relationship with Clarence, similarly, was not by choice. The damn thing forced its way into his head, the way its whole invasive species was trained to do, leaving him defenseless to its mental manipulation, and with no known way to escape it. And then the infernal Tuurngait had the audacity to claim that Philip was  **_lucky._ ** He said Philip was  **_lucky_ ** to get away with just having  _ him  _ in his head, instead of the whole hivemind as according to plan. Philip couldn’t disagree more with the Tuurngait virus. He didn’t see how he could ever be considered lucky. All he got from their parasitic relationship was intense visual and aural hallucinations driving him into madness; a never-ending pain in the neck with a Boston accent; and increasingly pervasive suicidal thoughts. Had Philip gotten a choice, he would’ve taken a swift, painless death from the very beginning, rather than ever have anything to do with Clarence or his kind. But Philip never had a choice.

His relationship with Amabel, however, despite how brief,  _ was  _ by choice. She came to him like a guardian angel in his time of need. Her voice was the cool water running over a mild burn. The smile he heard in her teasing tone was the comfort of the moon rising into the night sky to guide him through the darkness. She offered him hope for a better tomorrow, stirring emotions in him he’d repressed since getting himself into this mess. There wasn’t a single person in this world he loved as much as her, and he’d never even seen her face.

Because that damn virus killed her.

Philip let a sadistic smile spread across his face as he closed the door to the room, calculating the vaccine requirements in his head. He felt Clarence’s unease wrapping all around his mind, like he was getting ready to squeeze until Philip relinquished control. But Philip knew, no matter what the damn virus did, it would be for naught. This time, Philip was in control.

If blood was thicker than water, then his hatred for Clarence was thicker than blood.


End file.
